1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year!
“Every parent wants the best for their child, but what happens when your child’s emotional well-being is at risk?”
Psychological disorders among young people have become very common, raising concerns among parents, teachers and even medical practitioners. And if left unaddressed, most mental health issues will only get worse the further one gets in life.
A research by the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration found that the percentage of children aged 3-17 years diagnosed with depression increased by 27% between 2016 and 2020. This startling fact underscores the importance of parents to be aware of the signs of childhood mental illness and finding ways to intervene early.
Recognizing the Signs of Mental Health Issues in Children
It may be challenging to diagnose mental and behavioral disorders in children because symptoms can be similar and there are chances that it changes as the child develops. Often, diagnosis is based on children’s, parent’s, and teachers’ statements, which can be highly subjective. Stigma also hinders parents from seeking help as they fear for their child’s image and how people will regard them due to their child’s disability. Further, typical teenage behaviors can often be quite worrisome and may be closely related to or sometimes even mimic mental disorders.
Common Signs:
- Behavioral Changes: Changes in patterns, such as a social child becoming insecure, may be an indication of a problem.
- Mood Swings: Sudden drastic changes in mood and the ability to sustain such moods, which go beyond teenage whimsicalness, may signify a problem.
- Withdrawal from Activities: Less interest in hobbies and social activities are other signs of it.
- Sleep Changes: Any alteration in the normal sleep-wake cycle could be of concern, whether it results in increased or decreased sleep duration.
- Academic Decline: Symptoms include a sudden decline in academic performance, or simply not caring anymore about school work.
- Physical Symptoms: Headaches, stomach pains or even general fatigue which cannot be explained may indicate anxiety or depression.
Communicating with Your Child About Mental Health
In teaching your child about the topic of mental health issues the best way is to do so in an open and understanding manner with no judgment involved. It makes them open up and express their emotions and worries.
Tips:
- Choose the Right Moment: Start when you two are calm and busy at doing mundane things such as going for a walk or a car ride.
- Use Open-Ended Questions: Some ideas are as follows: Instead of asking ‘Yes/No’ questions such as ‘Are you feeling alright?’ – you could say ‘How have you been feeling lately?’
- Normalize the Conversation: You can encourage your child to share the feelings at home by telling them things like, “It is perfectly fine to feel sad or scared occasionally. ”
- Be an Active Listener: Being empathetic and affirming their emotions with phrases such as ‘That must have been difficult’ will go a long way.
Finding the Right Mental Health Support for Your Child
Parenting is a challenge and finding the right mental health assistance for a child may not be an easy process but here are some tips to help. The right therapist or counselor should be qualified, but at the same time, your child should feel quite comfortable with him or her. Furthermore, learning all the available treatments will help you to make the right decisions for your child’s mental issue.
The Hub from the Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP) provides some of the necessary tools for parents who need help for children and teens’ mental health. On their page, there is a well-structured list of mental health care providers including therapists and counselors. It also offers educational classes and online seminars concerning specific aspects of youths’ mental disorders and their treatment. Depending on the urgency, The Hub provides families with access to emergency assistance and has a list of support groups for parents and children. Further, parents can access articles and guides in their resource center that will assist them in managing mental health issues properly.
Additional Resources:
- Child Mind Institute: This organization has many articles, advice from professionals and a directory for child and adolescent mental health. They also provide telehealth services to enhance the delivery of healthcare.
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP): AACAP also has a “Find a Psychiatrist” search engine to enable users to identify board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists. They also provide information regarding different mental health disorders and how they should be tended.
- The Trevor Project: For parents of LGBTQ+ youth, The Trevor Project provides immediate crisis intervention in the form of a telephone helpline, online live-chat and text. It also contains information regarding how to find LGBTQ+ affirmative mental health care providers.
Supporting Your Teen’s Mental Health During Adolescence
Teenage can be a hectic period in one’s life especially due to increased pressure from school and societal expectations. This is the reason as a parent you need to stand firm and be ready to offer as much support as your teen needs while going through all these challenges.
Clear and realistic setting of boundaries will be good for such youths in that it will give them a security net and direction to follow. Promoting such positive outlets such as exercising, writing in a journal, or expressing oneself through artwork will assist them with dealing with stress and controlling their feelings. Another way is building resilience by telling others about your experiences of overcoming adverse conditions also turns out to be helpful.
From Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset, it can be noted that encouraging belief in teenager’s abilities to change for the better through effort helps enhance resilience.
Parent’s guide for Nurturing a Mentally Healthy Child
To foster the mental health of your teen, there is no better way than developing a mentally healthy home environment. Routines can help create some structure in the child’s life and bring a feeling of security. It lets the teenager be open to share his or her emotions and ideas when communicating with you. Imitating good patterns helps your child learn how to manage stress in the right manner by observing from your actions.
Through this, you are able to assist your child in building much strength and being in a position to handle various challenges affecting the teenagers’ psychological well-being.
Conclusion
In view of this, your child needs a positive atmosphere in which to grow and develop mentally. To be more proactive and to make a difference one has to be informed. According to Dr. Bruce Perry “the only strategy that works in helping children is giving them a sense of safety and security. ” Do not close doors on communication with the child and try to understand the child’s ability to cope.
The process can be initiated by learning the signs of mental health and talking to your child. Remember, early intervention can make a world of difference, as highlighted by the Child Mind Institute: “The sooner you get yourself involved, the better. By recognizing the signs of mental health issues early and addressing them openly, parents can make a lasting difference in their child’s emotional well-being. This Parent’s Guide is just a starting point to ensure your child gets the care and support they need.
References
Koppelman J. Children with Mental Disorders: Making Sense of Their Needs and the Systems That Help Them [Internet]. Washington (DC): National Health Policy Forum; 2004 Jun 4. (Issue Brief, No. 799.) Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559784/
